Commercial car and truck washing has become a focus of public concern and government regulation recently over the disposal of used wash water into municipal sewer systems or directly into the ground. The combination of oil, water, soap, dirt and other chemicals in the used wash water can be harmful to the environment if allowed to drain into a sewer or seep into the earth.
It is now known to have mobile washers for washing cars, trucks and any other type of machinery on site. These washers are equipped with water treatment systems and are well described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,669.982. Typically the trucks are self-sufficient in that they contain all the equipment needed for the cleaning purposes, for instance, water reservoir, soap injector, sprayers, hoses, a nacelle or carriage and a drainage receptacle. During the washing, the used water is drained onto the drainage receptacle and forwarded back inside the washer in order to be recycled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,339 is concerned with an apparatus for treating articles with wash water. This patent discloses the use of a wash pad comprising three unconnected portions. However, this patent does not disclose the use of longitudinal cover strips for fitting over the wheels of a vehicle, so as to further guide the water collected on the wheels of the vehicle onto the wash pads on the ground. The wash pads that are described in this patent only include a centre portion and side portions. No pads are provided for covering the wheels of the vehicle. Hence, the water that is collected on the wheels will directly seep in the ground.